AUSTRALIAN comedic favourite Dave Hughes says he is still hooked on the thrill of stand-up as he prepares to tour the country, with a performance in Wynnum under the Augathella Spiegeltent on December 10.
Hughes said his debut performance over three decades ago left him fearing he would “never be able to pay rent” after the audience failed to laugh at his opening joke.
“It was a terrible mindset to have on stage,” he said.
“But I knew if I didn’t get back up straight away, I’d never do it again.”
He returned the following week, and then a week later in his third attempt – one he still considers his best gig.
Hughes said his comedic style evolved naturally rather than by design, shaped largely by everyday irritations.
“A lot of my jokes come from people hurting my ego,” he said.
“Things that go wrong in my life become material.
“No one laughs at a winner – they laugh at someone who loses.”
Now a familiar presence on radio, television and reality programs including Australia’s Got Talent, The Masked Singer and I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, Hughes jokes that he will “do anything” if the story is good enough.
“My daughter has a poster that says, ‘Say yes for the plot’,” he said.
“I say yes to everything. Especially if I think I can get material out of it.”
Hughes said producers had pursued him for years to join I’m A Celebrity, but full-time radio work made it impossible until recently.
He finally agreed after being fired.
“I always mocked people who went on that show,” he said.
“But I’d say, ‘It’ll be me one day when I get sacked from radio’. And that day happened.”
A father of three, Hughes said parenting had shifted both his perspective and his material.
“You do become more selfless as a parent – if you hang around,” he said.
His teenage son, he added, provides a steady stream of jokes.
To aspiring comedians thinking of quitting, Hughes offered simple advice: keep turning up.
“If you enjoy it, why give it up?” he said.
Although sober and vegan in his fifties, Hughes says he has not entirely mellowed.
“I got to the airport yesterday and realised I’d set my alarm for 4.50pm instead of 4.50am,” he said.
“Life is ridiculous sometimes.”
His broader message is to take life less seriously.
“No one cares really,” he said.
“Just relax and enjoy yourself. Don’t hold grudges – they’re a waste of time.”
Dave Hughes performs at the Augathella Spiegeltent on Wednesday, December 10 at 8.30pm.
Tickets are available at wynnumwonderland.com.
